English Dub Review: The Darwin Incident “Humanzee”

Overview

Based on the Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shun Umezawa, the story begins when the Animal Liberation Alliance, an increasingly radical eco-terrorist group, raids a biological research institute and rescues a pregnant chimpanzee, which later gives birth to a hybrid monkey-person being known as a “humanzee.” Fifteen years later, that child, Charlie, is raised by human foster parents and sent to a regular high school in hopes of giving him a normal life, where he befriends a girl named Lucy and experiences a fragile sense of peace. Caught between human society and his animal origins, Charlie’s very existence stirs unease and fascination within the community, all while the Animal Liberation Alliance resurfaces with far more extreme intentions, seeking to claim him as a symbol for their cause and threatening to shatter the ordinary life he is only just beginning to understand.




Our Take

For the series premiere, it opens with a striking premise in which the past actions of a radical animal rights group inadvertently lead to the birth of Charlie, a half-human, half-chimpanzee hybrid monkey-person being raised by human parents and sent to an ordinary high school in hopes of living a normal life. From the outset, the story frames Charlie as someone caught between worlds, seemingly accepted on the surface yet fundamentally out of place, using his entry into everyday society to explore themes of identity, belonging, and quiet unease rather than shock value, and further emphasize his intelligence and emotional distance, establishing him as a calm, observant, and genuinely intriguing protagonist instead of a mere novelty concept.

What makes the first episode stand out is its commitment to treating Charlie as a character study rather than a spectacle, framing him as a quiet philosophical question about identity, morality, and belonging. His intelligence, emotional restraint, and occasionally contradictory reactions invite reflection on how he views humans, animals, and the value of life, while his interactions especially with Lucy, whom he later rescues add genuine warmth and humanity. The mixed reactions of those around him naturally expose prejudice, fear, and curiosity, while the eco-terrorist subplot provides an uneasy, occasionally blunt backdrop that flirts with satire, punctuated by darkly funny touches like the “Animal Lives Matter” graffiti in the opening. Visually solid if uneven, the episode also benefits from Charlie’s uncanny design and a modern American setting complete with English text and social media, grounding the story and making it feel notably more accessible than many anime adaptations compared to past Anime companies that don’t even bother translatiing stuff like that for most dubs.

Overall, this was a quietly compelling and unexpectedly thoughtful premiere that leans more into philosophical curiosity than shock or spectacle, and it’s worth noting that despite the episode’s title briefly reminding me of a darkly comedic yet tasteless James Gunn mockumentary film from 2008, the episode thankfully plays its premise completely straight. And prioritizes atmosphere, character, and uneasy ethical questions over gimmicks, with Charlie emerging as a genuinely intriguing protagonist whose existence, for better or worse, naturally invites a plethora of questions. While not everything lands perfectly, especially in its handling of extremist groups that often border awkwardly between satire and seriousness, the core concept and Charlie’s characterization remain strong enough to carry genuine interest forward. It’s an odd, provocative, and conversation-worthy introduction that leaves a strong impression and earns cautious optimism for where the story might go next.